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PEOPLE & ARTS Thursday 7 June 2018
'Jurassic World 2' leans on nostalgia, contrivances

By LINDSEY BAHR but it is a shameless strat-
Here's the good news: "Ju- egy that can only work so
rassic World: Fallen King- many times. Also, can we
dom " is more fun than "Ju- retire the "objects in the
rassic World." It's not exactly mirror are closer than they
a high bar, but still a wel- appear" joke at this point?
come surprise. In the hands Life finds a way, and so do
of a new director, J.A. franchises that make un-
Bayona, with Chris Pratt's godly amounts of money.
high-wattage charisma on "Jurassic World: Fallen King-
full blast and a fair amount dom" gets away with its
of self-aware humor intact, unoriginality for the most
there are certainly worse part, but this franchise's
ways to spend a couple desperation is starting to
hours in the air-conditioned show. It's time to evolve or
multiplex this summer. This image released by Universal Pictures shows a scene from the upcoming "Jurassic World: go extinct.
Mind you, this movie is pret- Fallen Kingdom." "Jurassic World: Fallen King-
ty ridiculous and the script Associated Press dom," a Universal Pictures
(from Colin Trevorrow and release, is rated PG-13 by
Derek Connolly) is not very national debate and Bryce It's all a precursor to the imagine possible. Bayona, the Motion Picture Asso-
clever — I found myself Dallas Howard's Claire is dinos coming to the main- who also directed "The Im- ciation of America for "for
rolling my eyes almost as leading the charge to try to land. possible" and "A Monster intense sequences of sci-
frequently as I found my- save the animals. As a not- If you're thinking, "I've seen Calls," is good enough to ence-fiction violence and
self smiling with genuine so-subtle nod to that other this movie before," just wait, pull it off. It's the main rea- peril." Running time: 128
delight. "Jurassic World: national debate about it get so much more deriva- son why "Fallen Kingdom" is minutes. Two and a half
Fallen Kingdom" will not Claire's choice of footwear tive than you would ever entertaining despite itself, stars out of four.q
stand up to rigorous scru- in "Jurassic World," our first
tiny, and yet, it's kind of an shot of her is her feet in sky
enjoyable, preposterous high heels (the hiking boots
and thrilling ride that ticks she wears later for all the
through nostalgia beats like action get their own loving
a shopping list. close-up too).
It's a little sad how in this Essentially, and this is where
era of industrial franchise the contrivances start, a
filmmaking a three year wealthy, dying man, Ben-
gap between films actu- jamin Lockwood (James
ally feels like quite a bit of Cromwell), who is some-
time — or maybe it's just a how connected to John
testament to how grueling Hammond, and his asso-
the past few years have ciate Eli Mills (Rafe Spall)
been — but, hey, it did at pitch Claire on an expe-
least seem like the right dition to stage their own
time to check in with those Noah's Ark with the dinos
dinosaurs again, although and transport as many spe-
I worry that our emotional cies as possible to a sanc-
investment in Owen's con- tuary island. They need her
nection with a velociraptor to tap into the park's se-
has been vastly overesti- curity system, and also to
mated. convince Owen (Pratt) to
After a very solid, and come along and get close
scary, beginning, with to the raptor Blue, his old
pouring rain and genuine pal who has become so
suspense as some scien- anthropomorphized it's ac-
tists venture back into the tually surprising she doesn't
defunct Jurassic World to just start talking.
retrieve a dinosaur bone, a There are some more new
helpful newscaster orients characters added too:
the audience with a whole A skittish computer guy,
lot of exposition: It's been Franklin (Justice Smith), and
three years since Jurassic a doctor Zia (Daniella Pine-
World closed; $800 million da), who come along on
in damages have been the journey for some come-
paid out; and, most impor- dic relief; a mercenary mili-
tantly, a dormant volcano tary guy (Ted Levine); and
has come back to life on a cute dino-obsessed girl,
the island and is about to Masie Lockwood (Isabella
cause an "extinction level Sermon).
event" that will wipe out all Perhaps the most unex-
the remaining dinosaurs. pected thing about "Fallen
The question of whether or Kingdom" is that the "es-
not to let the dinos go ex- cape from the volcano"
tinct again has become a plot is just the first set-piece.